Rolling Down The River

In full Determined To Get The Most Out Of This Month If It Kills Me And It Might Just Do So mode, I am so focused on DOING stuff and taking photographs of every move that everybody makes that I find I have no time to blog the usual tosh.

Mark and Oliver are being very patient with my sudden camera fetish although when I just asked if he could photograph something as a record of his day with Oliver tomorrow he looked at me as if I suggested chopping up the cats and making a tasty casserole out of them.  Since I have stalked Oliver relentlessly since November 29th I think it not unreasonable that he take one bloody picture of the day's activities.  Either that or it will be a photo of myself and my work colleague red-faced and straining at the seams with stress over an eight hour shift. 

Today we 'sailed with Santa'.  This is the sort of idea which usually fills me with horror, but it is December, and I find myself signing up for all manner of crackpot ventures at this time of year.  I hate boats, and I hate crowds of kids.  More than that I hate crowds of dappy parents. Why I thought that combining these things in one parcel of sea sickness and ill-temper would be a fun idea, God in heaven knows.

BUT - I have to report - it was fabulous.

The staff were friendly, and seemed to actually give a shit that the kids had a good time.  The trip was only from Exmouth marina up the river Exe and back again in an hour, which was a bearable timescale and the hour was filled with every child being given the chance to drive the boat, get balloon models of hats/giraffes/swords/whatevers made for them, have their faces painted and see Santa in his cupboard grotto in the bowels of the boat.

 

Although cold, the late winter afternoon sun was most welcome and the waters were still.  Standing on the top deck, a glass of (not very) mulled wine in one hand and a warm mince pie in the other I felt strangely awash with serenity and peace.  We were kept well informed about the locality and waterfowl along the Exe, and it was all just a bit lovely, actually.   I highly recommend the experience. 

 

Our home is fully decorated and I have anally pencilled in the evenings upon which I/we shall be hunkering down to watch annual film faves.  We have already watched Nativity, Santa Clause 1 & 2 (all of us) and Holiday Affair (Mark & I).  To look forward to we have: Nativity 2 (to be seen at the cinema), Santa Clause 3 (all of us), Polar Express and Scrooge (Oliver and I) and Moonstruck (me, me, me, me, ME!!!)  Love that one.  That's my present-wrapping one. 

It's interesting how everyone has their own particular films they associate with Christmas.  For me, 'The One' is Scrooge.  This film happened to air one Christmas Eve many moons ago when I was still young enough to live at home with my parents and brothers.  There was only my Mum and one of my brothers home at the time and the three of us watched it in the living room with our real tree smelling lovely and the late afternoon darkness filling the house with a sense of anticipation.  Such a potent memory for me, and the film just encapsulated the whole feeling of home and Christmas for me.  Now I have passed that feeling onto Oliver, and it is our film now. 

I am simply just BURSTING with festive-ness.